living contradiction
by Yui Miyamoto
Summary: Count D questions Leon as to why he visits him if he doesn't want a pet... (note: shounen ai)


disclaimer: pet shop of horrors does not belong to me.  
  
living contradiction  
  
by miyamoto yui  
  
Boom!   
  
The door opened and there was Detective Leon Orcot with his hand on the door and a frustrated expression on his face. He was turning slightly red with his eyes squinting just a little bit.   
  
"Count!" He cried.  
  
Count D had his back towards him and continued to water the plants. He laughed at the naughty thought that passed through his head with the shout of his name. Quietly, he mumbled to himself, "Ah, the things that pass through my mind when I've not had enough sleep."  
  
Gracefully turning around with his clothes lightly sweeping the floor, he smiled as he nodded. "Ah, Detective. What brings you here today?"  
  
Without another word, Leon took out a piece of paper clipped with pictures. It was a rare species of a frog that the Count had sold to a certain gentleman named Mr. Humphrey. The frog was found next to the victim, a girl of twelve years that Mr. Humphrey had adopted. The tongue of the greenish-brown frog stuck to the girl's neck as if it had sucked all of her blood, which, coincidentally, was neither in the girl or the frog.   
  
"Didn't I see this frog the last time I was here?"   
  
"Yes, but as always, there was a contract that said we are not responsible if the conditions of the contract aren't met." Count D then turned around and continued to water the plants around him. "What a pity. I thought you were here to visit me."  
  
"Count!" Leon impatiently said as he sighed in annoyance.   
  
It was always the same thing.  
  
He would come rushing to find something, even if all the evidence pointed towards this pet shop in Chinatown.  
  
But when had the chasing turned into an excuse to visit Count D? He couldn't remember when, what, or how, but he knew that every time he came, he now felt a sense of relief not being able to catch Count D. Even if his instinct was strong, the strangeness of his feelings came from the fact that he began to enjoy engaging in 'debates' with the Count D.  
  
People are all born masochists, didn't you know? They love to pursue whatever they don't have. And when they have it, they aren't satisfied.  
  
Count D continued to smile, wondering how long the detective would stay this time. No one really came to visit him unless they wanted something from him. So, as annoying as it seemed to have Detective Orcot pursue him with all those charges of murder or other, the detective was the only one who came for him personally.  
  
Not for a pet and not for his grandfather.  
  
Even if it was under false pretenses or the wrong reasons, he was glad there was someone who came for him alone in the dungeon under the streets of Chinatown.  
  
Finding nothing else to say, the detective said, "I will be going n-"  
  
"Since you've come this way," the count announced while putting down his bluish-violet flowerpot that he had bought from a little girl in one of the shops, "I would like to show you something. I am in the process of making it for you."  
  
Leon felt a chill go down his spine, but something in his heart warmed up at the thought. His mouth, however, denied any of his inner feelings as he shook his head. "No thanks, Count."  
  
Count D took a few steps towards him and looked him in the eye. "It is bad to refuse gifts. It's an insult in my culture."  
  
With a sigh, he walked behind him as the count led him to the back.  
  
"The hall is so deep," the detective commented as he looked at the count curiously.   
  
As he watched him walk in front of him, it seemed as if he were gliding rather than walking.  
  
The count always gave him the creeps, but at the same time, he was deeply fascinated by the enigmatic smiles and gestures the count gave him. In some sadistic way, Count D somehow helped him in some way, and in return, he sometimes did the same thing for him.  
  
When they got to a certain room, there was incense on the floor and in the middle of the room, there was a scroll perched on an art board.   
  
Glancing back at Detective Orcot, Count D humbly nodded his head to say, "I was working on this for you."  
  
"You know you don't have to."   
  
But the detective was impressed by the picture before him, even though he didn't understand the reason why the count went through all the trouble to paint it for him.  
  
On the other hand, the count wondered if his feelings were bleeding too much into the work.  
  
He always wanted to be detached from everyone and everything around him, but the detective wouldn't let him. Whether it was an insult or a compliment, he took this person's words to heart because they always seemed to head towards that direction.  
  
"If you ever wanted a pet, what would you pick?" the count asked him as Leon continued to stare at the picture, awed at the detail and vibrant coloring.   
  
Even in the semi-dim room, the picture shone on its own.  
  
Leon thought to himself, "Well, first of all, I know that for sure as hell, I wouldn't get it here."  
  
Aloud, he answered while still staring at the picture before him, "I don't know really. I wanted a dog when I was little, but other than that, I've never really wanted a pet because I've never really thought about it much."  
  
"Especially after all the cases I've seen through your shop," he added inside of his head.  
  
"I thought about that or a bird for you," the count said as he touched the scroll before him as if he were caressing the cheek of a beautiful woman. "But I decided on a mermaid instead. Yes, a mermaid would suit you just fine."  
  
The beautiful figure that had been painted on the scroll was neither male or female. Its hair was black and long. The face was that of an attractive Asian girl, but the body was that of an adolescent boy.  
  
Nonetheless, the detective laughed sheepishly while wondering what this all meant, but his eyes couldn't stare away from the sparkling green scales or the ocean.  
  
He asked, "Why'd you think so hard about this?"  
  
The count took his hand away from the scroll and said, "Everyone comes into this pet shop for something. I wondered what you came here for."  
  
The detective looked at the count for a moment and they were like this for a short while. Then, Leon said, "I've always wanted to ask you that. I've always wanted to ask you why do people come here even if they know or have heard about the rumors about what happens when the contract has been broken."  
  
"I sell love, hope, and dreams," the count said as he looked away, not wanting to show the frown on his face. "You always laugh at that, but it's true. Now, if people come here knowing the danger or fortune they are getting, they've been prepared for it from the beginning. Isn't that what love, hope and dreams do?"  
  
"So why did you pick a mermaid for me?" Leon asked as he finally touched the scroll.  
  
Even if it was a scroll that the count had made, it reminded him of Count D himself. He was something that he saw in front of him, but he couldn't ever understand.  
  
He was pleasing to look at and his words were alluring, but what was behind that smile of his? Why did this young man sell pets for the purpose of love, hope and dreams?  
  
To the idealistic side of him, it seemed impressive. To his practical part, it seemed absurd.  
  
Which instinct and which side was he going to choose?  
  
Leon came each time to get an answer, but the question was pushed back towards him every time he came to see Count D.   
  
The count then touched the scroll as Leon took his hand away. In between his hands, he looked at the mermaid. Its expression was neither melancholic nor happy. It just looked back at you as if she were reading your thoughts without you saying them.  
  
"I picked it because the mermaid is a legend. They only exist because people believe they do."  
  
The count's eyes looked down to the ground for a moment. They appeared subdued and contemplative for a second, almost as if they were about to cry pearls.  
  
"I'll never understand my honesty towards you, Detective," Count D thought to himself.  
  
Count D kissed the face of the mermaid and handed it over to Leon. A grin came to his face as he gave it to Leon, gripping his hands for a split-second. "Now, it is finished."  
  
Leon didn't know what to say to either gesture, but he pulled away as he said, "Thank you for the scroll."  
  
"It was meant to be yours."  
  
It was then that the Count took a hold of his chin and looked deeply at Leon's face. "And yet again, you don't tell me why you come here."  
  
Leon wanted to turn away at the touch, but those mismatched eyes that watched him never seemed to let go of their charm over him. He told him with a slightly sharp tone, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Why are you afraid of me, Detective?" Count D asked as he pulled on the chin to read the detective. "Is it because of the broken contracts? Is it because of my eyes? Is it because I invade your personal space and touch you? Is it because I cross-dress? Tell me what it is."  
  
"You contradict everything," Leon replied, but he couldn't really explain the 'everything' part.  
  
The count then let go of his chin. "What exactly do I contradict?"  
  
Count D then began to walk out of the room and out into the hall. Leon followed him while trying to figure out a sufficient answer. As they came to the main room, Leon turned around after Count D stopped walking.   
  
"Nature," Leon replied, proud of his concise answer.  
  
He was about to turn around, but then he said, "But let me ask you one question, Count."  
  
"Yes, what is it?" Count D folded his hands in front of him.  
  
"Don't you do anything else besides stay inside of this pet shop? Isn't there something else that you'd rather do?" He held the rolled scroll firmly in his hand.  
  
"There's nothing for me out there." Stepping forward, he took Leon's chin again and said, "I'd rather wait for you to visit me again."  
  
"Count!" Leon shouted as he shook his head and walked out with a red face.   
  
Count D watched him leave and laughed to himself. When he closed the door, he went back to watering the plants. "I'll only last as long as you want me to. As long as you believe I am here.  
  
"I sell love, hope, and dreams because I cannot have my own. But what do you want, Detective? Your indecision hurts me."   
  
Glancing at the doorway, the count smiled with eyes filled with water. "But when you finally understand me and find the answer as to why you come to me, I'll no longer be here. It will be too late."  
  
As Leon went out into the street and was overcome by the heat of the afternoon sun, he opened the scroll to have a better look at it. In the sunlight, Leon saw the mismatched eyes of the mermaid before him. "It looks like Count D..."  
  
The mermaid's arms were reaching out towards him as if they desparately wanted to hold him...  
  
Still staring at the mermaid in his hands with a sorrowful smile on his face, he honestly told himself in a whisper,   
  
"Count...  
  
...what I really want can't be taken home with me."  
  
And somewhere deep inside of him, he knew it would always remain that way.  
  
owari.  
  
--  
  
author's note: ^_____^ Did I ever mention that I liked this pairing? Probably not. (Then again, I don't talk about many things or pairings, except Ryuichi, Subaru, Tezuka, Heero, or Akira. ^^;)  
  
While I was contemplating on what fic to make today, I came across this title, so I thought I'd try it. I always wanted to anyway. I hope I will have some time in the future to write a longer fic.  
  
* smiles sadly * Throughout the whole fic, I felt like both of them were holding back, but I never thought it was so easy to write from Count D's perspective. I thought it would have been harder than the detective's. 


End file.
